Method of forming axminster fabric



June 19, 1951 P. MILLER 2,557,453

METHOD 0F FORMING AXMINSTER FABRIC Original Filed Feb. 18, 1949 0N CHEESE 7'0 FOR/V .STR/VGH? YARN w54 vf As P/f o/v AXN/N575@ LOOM,

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JI 7 .I o a 4 f a o o a o lwentor /0 /7 -Bu Gttorneg Patented June 19, 19511 METHOD F FORMING AX'MIN STER FABRIC Philip Miller, Yonkers, N. Y., assignor to Alexander Smith & Sons Carpet Company, Yonkers, N. Y., a corporation of New York `Original application February 18, 1949, Serial No. 77,103. Divided and this application February 1, 1950, Serial No. 141,677

1 claim. l

This invention relates to pile fabric, such as rugs or carpets, for oor covering and more particularly to an Axminster weave in which a design is formed by a combination of pile yarns having different degrees of twist.

This application is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 77,103 filed February 18, 1949.

An object of the invention is to produce an Axminster weave having a sculptured appearance with pile of uniform height.

Another object is to provide a method of weaving high twist pile on an Axminster loom.

Another object is to provide a novel and improved method for forming a design in an Axminster floor covering.

Another object is to provide an Axminster weave having a novel and improved appearance.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.I

It has heretofore been impractical to weave highly twisted frieze yarn, that is twisted to an extent to cause a cockie in the yarn, as pile on an Axminster loom because the yarn ends protruding from the tubes of the loom spools must be suiilciently straight to pass between the warp as the spools are brought into weaving position. The cockled frieze yarn tends to curl over on the warp or into the space between neighboring 3 More specifically the highly twisted yarn is4 first wound on cheeses or spindles under a sufficient tension to straighten out the cockie and,

hard twist areas produces a Sculptured appearance.

The novel features of the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which a specific embodiment has been set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a iiow diagram illustrating the steps in the process;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of a typical floor covering embodying the invention; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section through a finished fabric taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings more in detail. Fig. 3 illustrates a typical Axminster weave which includes three double weft or ller shots I0, Il, and I2 for each row of pile tufts I4, two stuier yarns l5 and I 6, and a chain yarn I l. It is to be understood that the weave may be varied as in standard Axminster practice and that a specic arrangement has been shown for purposes of illustration only. In any case the weave is characterized by groups of three double filler shots and a suitable number of stuiier yarns and chain yarns to bind the rows of tufts. In accordance with standard practice the pile yarns are set on an Axminster setting frame in accordance with the selected design and the yarns for the various pile tufts of each row are wound on separate spools having tubes from which the ends project for weaving. After a row of tufts has been woven into the backing, the ends are cut and the next spool is brought into weaving position.

In accordance with this invention the high twist yarns and the low twist yarns are wound on the spools to form the patterns. The low twist or soft yarns are formed in the usual manner. The high twist yarns are formed by the steps indicated in Fig. l. The yarns are rst twisted on the spinning frames to impart a twist of 5 to 10 turns per inch, depending upon the size of the yarn, sufficient twist being given to cause the yarn to tend to cockie or curl when the tension is relieved. For example, in a Wool pile yarn of approximately 600 yards per pound seven turns per inch may be used.

The yarn is then wound in packages (cheese or spindle) under suicient tension to straighten 3 form when the tension is relieved. The yarn may be dyed either on the cheese or in skein form while still held under tension.

'Ihis high twist set yarn is then wound on the loom spools and woven in the usual manner on the Axminster loom. The resultant fabric includes low twist tufts I4 and high twist tufts 20, as shown in Fig. 3. The low twist tufts I4 spread out over the surface as indicated to form the usual soft background coverage. The high twist tufts 20 retain their twisted form to produce a pebbled effect which contrasts with the full coverage eiiect of the low twist tufts.

'I'he effect of this combination is illustrated in Fig. 2 wherein the low twist pile I4 constitutes the background and the high twist pile 20 the design. Obviously these elements could be reversed.

In order to set o the design in a more distinctive manner, a row of tufts may be omitted around the border of the design. The contrasting yarns may have the same degree of twist, but the soft yarns may be unset while the hard yarns are twist set to produce the contrasting etlect. The twist in this case must not produce cockle in the unset or soft set yarns.

The above described fabric may be made with any selected design and produce a novel and pleasing appearance simulating Sculptured eiects. Of course contrasting colors may be used if desired.

The' invention is not restricted to the specific form shownbut may be applied to various uses as will be apparent to a person skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

The method of making a pile fabric which comprises spinning a yarn with a twist sufciently high to cause the yarn to cockle or curl when its tension is relieved, winding said highly twisted yarn onto packages under a suilicient ,tension to straighten out the cockle or curl, treat- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,815,027 Murch July 14, 1931 1,849,550 Phoenix Mar. l5, 1932 2,058,948 Blumenthal et al. Oct. 27, 1936 2,121,909 Fonda June 28, 1938 2,127,638 Brandwood Aug. 23, 1938 2,509,352 Reinhardt et al. May 30, 1950 OTHER REFERENCES Textile World, Sept. 1946: Dielectric Heating (pages 139, 141, 216, 220 and 224). 

